S.F. suspends club where shootout happened

Crime

Suede nightclub at 383 Bay Street where the shooting occurred. A shooting early Sunday February 7, 2010 near the Suede nightclub on Bay Street in San Francisco, Calif. left one person dead and four wounded.

Suede nightclub at 383 Bay Street where the shooting occurred. A shooting early Sunday February 7, 2010 near the Suede nightclub on Bay Street in San Francisco, Calif. left one person dead and four wounded.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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Suede nightclub at 383 Bay Street where the shooting occurred. A shooting early Sunday February 7, 2010 near the Suede nightclub on Bay Street in San Francisco, Calif. left one person dead and four wounded.

Suede nightclub at 383 Bay Street where the shooting occurred. A shooting early Sunday February 7, 2010 near the Suede nightclub on Bay Street in San Francisco, Calif. left one person dead and four wounded.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

S.F. suspends club where shootout happened

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A Fisherman's Wharf nightclub was already facing a seven-day city suspension of its license for out-of-control crowds when a gun battle erupted there over the weekend, leaving one man dead and four wounded, San Francisco officials said Monday.

The city imposed an emergency suspension Sunday, after Lawon Hall, 19, of Richmond was slain in the shootout in front of the Suede Nightclub and Lounge, 383 Bay St.

The 19-year-old gunman who police say killed Hall was himself wounded by a club guard, a police patrol special officer. The suspect, whose name has not been released, was being treated at San Francisco General Hospital.

Forty-four shots in all were fired when the battle erupted at 1:40 a.m. Sunday, police said. At least one gunman besides the wounded suspect was involved, say investigators, who are hoping to make more arrests.

On Monday, the club said it would voluntarily close for a month while the city decides what to do next. That comes on top of the emergency suspension that the Entertainment Commission's executive director imposed.

Neighbors have complained about Suede to the commission and to police since 2007, not long after the current management bought it. They said it is too crowded, too loud and does too little to limit the unruly crowds that spill out after closing time.

The commission was already on the verge of suspending the club's license for a week because of an incident last month, said Bob Davis, the commission's executive director.

Audrey Joseph, one of the panel's seven members, witnessed several brawls at the club Jan. 10. She told Davis to order Suede closed for a week, under a new law that allows the panel to take emergency action, Davis said.

Club officials appealed, and a meeting about whether to impose the suspension was to have been held this week, Davis said.

He said the club could now face further sanctions. "We want to know, to the extent we can, how can we make the neighborhood safer, if we are going to allow this place to stay open," Davis said.

Police Chief George Gascón said the weekend violence is both "very troubling" and "very predictable," given the nightclub's history.

"This club has been an incredible drain on our resources for quite some time," the chief said.

Police Cmdr. Jim Dudley said the voluntary shutdown is not enough. Dudley was formerly the captain at Central Station, which patrols the neighborhood where the club is located.

"What happens, if we go by there next Saturday night, and they are having a rave?" Dudley said. "We have no ability to sanction."

He said the commission should make the 30-day closure mandatory so it can "look at security, management, hours of operation, all the things that contributed to the violence."

Dudley said the club has expanded to the point where it has become too large for the area. "It's become a Winchester Mystery House, if you will," Dudley said, with a capacity of 400.

Mark Marincic, a neighbor who has repeatedly complained about Suede to the Entertainment Commission, said, "This is a club with a known history. City officials were made aware of it, and we now have a situation where we have one dead and (others) are critically injured.

"It appears the city had the power to do something all along, but didn't," Marincic said.